A technical communicator's travel blog about the impressive land of developer experience and the deep waters of API usability
So, this is it—the last post on this blog. As introduced in the beginning, this blog was part of a module in the MA programme I study at the University of Limerick. The blog accompanied me throughout the semester, and I used it to reflect on my learning as well as to cover technical communication… Continue reading Goodbye, blog
After nearly two years of studying the Technical Communication and E-Learning MA programme, the end is near. Although not close. There are still five months to go, and I will write my dissertation during that time. However, the current semester is about to terminate, and I will submit my last assignments for this programme within… Continue reading What I remember from and what changed through the MA programme
From a learner’s perspective, I can confirm that it is more than helpful to know what the criteria for grading an assignment are. This is why instructors should provide assignment briefs that make clear what the assignment is about and what exactly gets graded. It is also helpful to have instructors who are available to… Continue reading How offering a choice can motivate learners to push their limits
So, we have to put up an e-portfolio to show examples of the work we had done during the MA programme. It has been two years. I have changed computers in between. My data are … actually, I don’t know exactly, where all the data are. On some hard disks around here probably. Maybe I’ll… Continue reading Selecting artefacts for an e-portfolio
With my dissertation, I aim to provide a state-of-the-art set of answers to the overarching question of what would be best practices for API documentation. To find answers, I wanted to review the body of knowledge from technical communication as well as software documentation. I wanted to identify studies that could provide reliable answers. So,… Continue reading Finding the best research method to answer your research question(s)
Educating students on how to conduct usability tests is part of the MA programme I currently study (click here to enlarge the module map shown above). The product I decided to test was a developer portal, that is, a website aimed at developers and offering further information about microservices and their APIs. When shaping the… Continue reading Usability (testing) for complex information systems
Technical communicators might work as researchers or practitioners, or both. Stop reading if you belong to the former two groups. Keep reading if you somehow belong to both worlds. This blogpost introduces a tool that helps you to stay organised in academic writing: a reference management tool. Researchers already use this kind of tool as… Continue reading EndNote: Organise your references and save time when citing them
Sometimes, a Sunday marks not just the end of a week but also the end of something familiar. Today is such a Sunday for me. As a part-time student of the MA programme for Technical Communication and E-Learning, I work during the other "part" of the week. This blog post reflects on an experience in… Continue reading Moving on
Did you read superhero comics when you were a kid? I did. And I wonder if that influenced my temper today. Or is there something to the zodiac signs after all? If so, it would fit: I'm an Aries, and I tend to take on big projects and sometimes overburden myself just because I know… Continue reading Fifty hours per week vs fifty per cent of the workload
Panic. I feel panic when I think of my dissertation. It is still winter, and the dissertation is only due next summer. However, panic creeps up my back and keeps me from thinking clearly and working effectively. No, not the panic monster type of panic. Not the one that usually would come along if you… Continue reading How to handle (perceived) time pressure
API docs and me 